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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Charlotte is headed to the vet tomorrow

Well our dear little Charlotte had a little 'oops' over the weekend. She was running and playing and wanted to run around the corner of the couch. Unfortunately the carpet remnant I have doesn't extend there, and she wasn't paying close attention and she slipped again.

I have NO idea what is going on with her and her back legs. When she showed up she seemed to have a very slight limp, and when she would walk on the vinyl floor her back legs would often slip and 'give out'. I don't want to say she'd tumble because she did quickly recover - hence the lack of videos on it - but it was clear SOMETHING was going on.. I mentioned it to the shelter and they said when she came back to go up for adoption they'd get her in to be looked at to see what was going on.

If she fractured her pelvis, there wasn't much we could do but let it heal anyway, and she didn't seem in any distress over it at all, so I simply found a carpet remnant in my house that covered most of the floor and put that down for her. She seemed to start walking better, she played more vigorously - she actually does rabbit 'binkies' when she plays, it is so freakin adorable!! - and I couldn't see a limp any more. I figured I'd still have them look at her, but it was probably not going to be an issue.

Well this past weekend, as I said, she was playing and slipped. I heard a bonk, and assumed she hit her rear end on the couch or the end table. She simply sat down and froze. She didn't cry, she didn't try to lick the area, nothing. She looked up at me, and I scooped her up and laid her on my chest and kissed her and patted her. She did not cry out or react in any way like she was in pain, and a moment or two later she very clearly reminded me that snuggle time was over long ago and it is now play time thankyouverymuch (she is so rigid in her schedule!!) I gently put her back on the floor, not letting her jump or climb down. She stood up, wobbled a wee bit and her end flomped down and she 'sat' (front end upright, back end down) and then looked at me again. Once again I picked her up and cuddled her.. very gently probing her rear, her hocks, her legs, nothing seemed amiss. She let me cuddle her for a bit less time this time, and again reminded me (by chewing on my fingers) that it was PLAY TIME DARN IT!.. so I once again went to put her on the floor, and she tried to jump but I wouldn't let her.

This time she walked away, but was wobbly. Somewhere between five and ten minutes had passed since it happened. I was going to give her another few minutes before I made any decisions about taking her to a vet/calling the shelter, but after another ten or so, she was playing with the toy, and while she wasn't 100% she was back to about where she was when she showed up here.

I emailed the shelter on Monday and we now have an appointment to have her seen on Wednesday.. I'm not sure if anything will come of it, but I do want a professional to decide..

I don't know if this is an over the top or exaggerating the issue possible answer but could it maybe be a milder form Cerebellar Hypoplasia or 'wobbly cat syndrome'? Many cats with this slip and slide on floors that are uncarpeted and their legs give out under them. Not a lot of vets are familiar with the disorder and diagnosing it. The 'Life with CH Cats' blog is a great resource for more info:www.lifewithchcats.com

not a bad suggestion.. I've seen CH cats, and their wobbliness tends to come in the front half of the body and it doesn't improve.. Charlotte just has stability issues on her back legs, and it got better while she was with me, so I am thinking she had a cracked pelvis.. but I accept I could be wrong and it could be any number of things.. We'll know more after the vet visit..